Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM InfoSphere Optim Data P...
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Data Masking (7th)
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Database Development and Management Tools solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy is designed for Data Masking and holds a mindshare of 5.1%, up 1.9% compared to last year.
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection, on the other hand, focuses on Database Security, holds 29.3% mindshare, down 33.4% since last year.
Data Masking Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy5.1%
Perforce Delphix14.2%
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)8.3%
Other72.4%
Data Masking
Database Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection29.3%
Imperva Data Security Fabric27.1%
Oracle Audit Vault14.3%
Other29.299999999999997%
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

HansMiseur - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and flexible product that improves development time
The product is very stable and flexible. The product masks data throughout the entire structure. It helps us to work in a differential integrity environment. We conducted testing directly on our production environment in the past, but that’s no longer the case. We can now work with actual data in a production-like setting without production data. The shift to non-production data for testing and development has significantly improved our workflow. Developers can now work with fewer errors when deploying to production. The delivery of new software became faster, and errors significantly decreased. Working with actual data during the development phase allowed us to catch and address issues early rather than encountering them later during acceptance or production.
Ahmer Faisel Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers mature agents, compliance reporting and reliable database security
The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure. If a customer searches for old logs for retention purposes, there are limitations on appliances once they are set with specific hardware, so they can only be changed by uninstalling or reinstalling the hardware. The solution's aggregator feature allows data aggregation, but for instance, if a customer wants a project ready in two years, having an Elasticsearch in DB or the capacity to store huge amounts of data would be beneficial in data investigation or evaluation at an affordable cost. Some AI features should be added to IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. For example, the AI features implemented in the solution can be anomaly detection or suspicious activity identification.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The product is very stable and flexible. The product masks data throughout the entire structure. It helps us to work in a differential integrity environment. We conducted testing directly on our production environment in the past, but that’s no longer the case. We can now work with actual data in a production-like setting without production data. The shift to non-production data for testing and development has significantly improved our workflow."
"The possible number of databases and database servers which can be monitored by Guardium is high. For me, this is a differentiator of IBM."
"The tech support is very knowledgeable."
"The investment return was good because IBM Security Guardium Data Protection provided significant security and compliance benefits."
"We also use IBM Guardium to support security initiatives and compliance policies. For example, our audit area can verify if someone has access to information that they shouldn't have, for their regular job functions."
"Ability to define reports based on SQL query, especially when you have complex report criteria."
"he solution offers trouble-free access."
"It's one of the first to encrypt DB2 databases."
"The most valuable feature for me, in my role as systems DBA, is the expediting of internal and external audits."
 

Cons

"We have encountered challenges with different intgrity structures. In my experience, I’ve encountered challenges with implementing business cases. While the product remains stable, translating its use cases can be more complex. This involves both technical and functional considerations."
"The solution could be improved for NoSQL databases."
"The technical support is very poor."
"One of the limitations that everyone who uses Guardium knows is its ability for back-end reporting. The ability to collect it sometimes is easier than the ability to retrieve it, use it, or give a good representation of it for incidence response or questions which come from the different people who want to use the data."
"​Overall testing and quality need improvement. It is fairly buggy at times, so it feels like it could use additional staff on the product, testing and trying it out."
"Performance and the ability to use resources could be improved."
"Initial setup is very complex. Once you start interacting with people's databases, they get very hesitant. Then, the amount of social tasks to socialize the solution ensuring people are comfortable with it became a much heavier lift."
"If IBM Guardium Data Protection could find a way to not have a lot of coding and development required to get the solution up and running it would be an advantage. The information of the agent could improve, which is necessary for us to monitor the databases would be a great benefit."
"The one thing that I would like to see improved, but I don't think it's going to be in the next release, is its reporting capabilities. I think that's been offloaded to another third-party product that I think IBM actually endorses for that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy's pricing is not expensive. It was less than what we expected. The licensing model for IBM Optim involves a one-time purchase followed by an annual subscription fee. This fee covers ongoing support and access to new versions. However, there are no options for extended or additional support."
"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."
"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."
"The biggest challenge is the cost associated with the product, and the cost of maintaining. Everything is not translated directly to the benefits we see. There are benefits, yes, but if I were writing the check, would I buy Guardium? No."
"It is a very costly product."
"IBM solutions have fair price strategy, and operates on a yearly basis. If it's a SaaS solution, then you can opt for yearly basis."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"The cost depends on the number of databases. You can purchase advanced licenses, but the standard license is calculated based on the number of databases you have to onboard."
"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. ​"
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Masking solutions are best for your needs.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise45
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy?
The product is very stable and flexible. The product masks data throughout the entire structure. It helps us to work in a differential integrity environment. We conducted testing directly on our pr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy?
IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy's pricing is not expensive. It was less than what we expected. The licensing model for IBM Optim involves a one-time purchase followed by an annual subscription fe...
What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy?
We have encountered challenges with different intgrity structures. In my experience, I’ve encountered challenges with implementing business cases. While the product remains stable, translating its ...
How does IBM Guardium Data Protection compare with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is a solution for database security from IBM that gives complete visibility, control, and analysis to secure sensitive data and comply with regulations. IBM S...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Guardium Data Protection?
I don't remember the exact prices, but Guardium is an expensive tool because it is targeted towards corporate enterprises.
What do you like most about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection?
The features I like are the robust policies, which allow us to create customized monitoring based on specific activities.
 

Also Known As

IBM Optim Data Privacy, Optim Data Privacy
InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Rabobank
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Informatica, Perforce, Broadcom and others in Data Masking. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.